1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system networking, and more particularly to a system and method for secure and rapid networking configuration of information handling systems and peripherals.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling system use has grown over the past several years at least in part because of the convenience provided by networking. A prime example of a network that has spurred information handling system growth is the Internet. As information handling systems proliferate, enterprises and end users have an increasing number of innovative uses for the Internet that have integrated network access into the very fabric of daily life. Some examples, include e-mail and messaging, which have changed the way we communicate, bank and brokerage account access, which have changed the way we finance, and blogs, which have changed the way we debate. Although the Internet has brought about many such innovations, the innovations would have only marginal value without ready access to the Internet by end users. Initially, Internet access to end users was limited to hard-wired interfaces. Enterprises provided access through a centralized server and switch architecture that interfaced with offices through Ethernet cables. Non-commercial or home-based Internet interfaces were supported through dial-in, DSL, cable or other modems that input directly into an information handling system, such as through an Ethernet card or modem card built into the information handling system. In some instances, end users hard-wired their homes with Cat 5 cable to support a home network that allowed access in multiple locations through the house.
More recently, wireless networking capabilities available to enterprises and end users have made network access much more convenient than conventional hard-wired network access. Industry standards, such as IEEE 802.11 standards, have encouraged wide spread use of wireless local area and personal area networks. By setting up a home wireless local area network (WLAN) compliant with 802.11(b), (g) or (n), an end user can effectively access the Internet through the WLAN from any point within the range of the WLAN transceiver. One problem with wireless networking is that the radio signals of the wireless network are available to all receivers within the range of the wireless networking transceiver. To prevent unauthorized access, wireless networking components typically include security features, such as a WEP or WPA key that prevents access from unauthorized devices that do not have the proper security code. Unfortunately, setting up and maintaining a wireless network often presents an overwhelming challenge to end users. Even where an end user manages to interface information handling systems and peripherals through a wireless network, the end user often leaves the network unsecured due to the difficulty of setting up the network in a secure manner with all devices re-associated with the network. These difficulties reappear each time the end user adjusts the network, such as by adding or replacing information handling systems or peripherals. Often, peripherals made by different manufacturers are programmed in different manners so that learning wireless network setup is a very real challenge for the home or business end user. Since the peripherals typically originate with a variety of manufacturers, pre-loading a peripheral with an intended network's configuration information has not been a practicable solution, especially where the peripherals are purchased from other than the peripheral manufacture, such as a retail store or as part of package from an information handling system manufacturer.